What is now Illinois was inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous cultures, including the advanced civilization centered in the Cahokia region. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria?. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's ten busiest airports for decades. Additionally, the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash rivers form parts of the state's boundaries. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. Illinois has a highly diverse economy, with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-largest land area. Other metropolitan areas include Peoria and Rockford, as well as Springfield, its capital. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St.

It borders Wisconsin to its north, Iowa to its northwest, Missouri to its southwest, Kentucky to its south, Indiana to its east, and has a water border with Michigan to the northeast in Lake Michigan. Illinois ( / ˌ ɪ l ɪ ˈ n ɔɪ/ ( listen) IL-in- OY) is a state in the Midwestern United States.

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